Too much “domestic gas” on Turkish resorts
Lately, something keeps exploding in Turkey: hotels, airplanes, banks, buses. For example, in the Valeri Beach hotel in Kemer, where an explosion occurred on the evening of last Friday, eight Ukrainian citizens were injured. In total, more than 20 people were injured in the explosion, but no one was killed. Two women were hospitalized, one of them underwent surgery. There are no medical reports yet on the condition of the victims at the diplomatic mission. Six Ukrainians with minor injuries returned to their homeland at the beginning of the week. According to foreign media, the hotel explosion was caused by domestic gas. Meanwhile, Ukrainian tourists, who were visited in the hospital by a staff member of the Russian consulate in Antalya, claim that an explosive device of unknown type was set off in the hotel courtyard. Turkish police, investigating the circumstances of this tragic incident, are remaining silent for now.
But regardless of which version is confirmed, the victims may demand compensation. Asked whether Kiev intends to demand payments from Ankara, Deputy Head of the Press Service of the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry Dmitry Svistkov said: “Most likely, compensation will be paid by tour operators, but full clarity will only come once we have the opportunity to objectively assess the situation.”
The two previous summer months were also turbulent. On June 30, an explosive device planted on board a Turkish Airlines plane went off in Istanbul. On the same day, a Turkish citizen, trying to solve his family problems, threatened to blow up an aircraft operating the Munich-Istanbul flight.
Four days before these events, on June 26, an explosion occurred at the Hatipoglu hotel in the Turkish resort of Alanya. The CNN-Turk news agency circulated a report about a terrorist attack, and Reuters clarified that the bomb went off in the hands of a suicide bomber. However, a little later, Turkish authorities denied reports of a terrorist attack and officially stated that the cause of the explosion was not a terrorist attack but a domestic gas leak.
Before that, on June 24, a passenger bus was blown up in Istanbul. Three passengers were killed, and 10 more were wounded. The authorities blamed left-wing radicals for the explosion.
On June 23, two more explosions occurred: in Istanbul and Ankara. In Istanbul, an explosive device was planted some twenty-odd meters from the Hilton hotel building. Therefore, the building itself was not damaged by the blast, only losing a few panes of glass. However, there were casualties: two police officers died. The second explosion, in Ankara, was triggered by a police officer himself, who noticed a suspicious object on the street and kicked it. The blast tore off the officer's leg, and a passerby was also injured.
These explosions were preceded by a whole series of others. In total, over the past two years, about fifteen of them have been organized on Turkish territory, and their number is rapidly growing.
Will the flow of tourists subside in light of such alarming reports? Germany ranks first in terms of the number of tourists vacationing in Turkey, Russia second, and Great Britain third. It is therefore clear that the country's tourism policy will be influenced primarily by the reaction to the increased danger level in these three countries. According to European media, after the terrorist attacks organized in Turkey last year, the number of trips by tourists from Germany and England decreased. However, there is no precise information yet on whether an outflow of Europeans from Turkey has already begun this season and, if so, how large it is.
As early as June 20, 2004, the German newspaper Welt am Sonntag included Turkey, along with Afghanistan and Iran, in its list of countries with a high risk of stay (the list is compiled on the basis of intelligence service data). Our Foreign Ministry is so far refraining from recommending that its compatriots not travel to Turkey for vacation.
According to official statistics from the Turkish Ministry of Culture and Tourism, in the period preceding the series of June explosions, a significant growth in foreign tourism to the country was recorded. According to this agency, between January and June 2004, it increased by 43.46% compared with the previous period, reaching more than 6.7 million people. In June, almost 1.9 million people visited Turkey, of whom 356,000 were Germans, 236,000 Russians, and 192,000 British. No data are given for July of the current year.
Terrorist attacks will definitely not scare Russians. As Irina Tyurina, press secretary of the Russian Union of Tourism Industry (RST), told Gazeta.Ru, “There will be no outflow of Russian tourists from Turkey – nothing can deter our tourist. The fact is that Russians have an increased immunity to dangers, and here in Russia we do not live in the calmest place on earth. That is how we differ significantly from Europeans, who immediately leave dangerous destinations. And if the Turks lower prices for tourist services to compensate for the risk, our people will simply rush there.” Most Russian travel companies share Ms. Tyurina’s opinion.
Representatives of the Ukrainian tourism business also do not expect an outflow of domestic tourists from the Turkish coast. For example, employees of the travel company SAM claim that Turkey is the undisputed leader of the season for Ukrainians when choosing a summer vacation spot abroad. And at the Kiy Avia travel agency, which sends our citizens to Kemer, where the latest explosion occurred, they have not heard of any of their clients currently vacationing there wishing to return early. So whether it is dangerous or not, our people go there to rest. Moreover, if, due to the outflow of European tourists, Turkish tour operators lower prices, our compatriots may outpace Russians in their rush to the golden beaches of Antalya.
The conclusion to be drawn from all of the above is simple: our people can survive any explosions. Except price explosions.